City of Souls
by Melrick
Summary: Angel and the gang read about someone locked in an insane asylum, claiming to be a vampire... with a soul.
1. Newspaper

Title: City of Souls

Copyright (c) 2002 Melrick 

Author: Melrick (melrick72@yahoo.com) 

Spoilers: None, really. 

Synopsis: Set just before a pregnant Darla returned. The gang read about someone locked in an insane asylum, claiming to be a vampire... with a soul. 

Note: This story assumes that you've already been following the story of Angel on TV. Because if you haven't then some - perhaps much - of this story will be a tad confusing to you. Also, this is my very first Angel story so I hope it's not too bad. And if I got any facts wrong then I apologise. 

Disclaimer: Angel is owned by Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy and no copyright infringement is intended or implied. The character "Jude" IS mine, though. This story may be distributed and archived, but only with the above completely intact and NOT to pay sites. 

*****   
Chapter 1 

"Oh look," said Cordelia Chase, in a somewhat bored manner, as she glanced through the newspaper, "police arrested a twenty eight year old man yesterday for walking through the streets of LA stark naked. When police stopped him, he insisted that he was simply doing his weekly shopping." 

"Are there any pictures?" asked Winifred 'Fred' Burkle. When everybody turned to look at her - mostly out of surprise to hear such a question come from her - she blushed and looked down at her suddenly shuffling feet. "I... I was just wondering, that's all," she stammered. 

"No, sorry, Fred, no such luck," Cordelia replied, returning to the newspaper. Charles Gunn couldn't help but let out a chuckle, which made Fred blush even more. Angel was busy sharpening a sword, while Wesley was busy with a book. Neither seemed to pay Cordelia or Fred any notice. 

All went quiet again - everybody feeling thoroughly bored - when suddenly, Cordelia let out a squeal. Everybody jumped, making Angel cut his thumb on his sword. 

Wesley Wyndam-Price sighed and looked up from his book. "What is it this time, Cordelia? Shoes or dresses?" He knew that sounded bitchy, but the fact was, that's what her squeals were usually about. _Why is it women can never have too many clothes?_ he wondered, and not for the first time. But if he had been paying more attention then he would have realised that it was a squeal of surprise, not delight. 

Normally, she would have immediately hit back with some sarcastic or biting reply, but not this time. "I guess none of you are interested in hearing about another vampire with a soul," she said, folding up the newspaper and making to drop it in the trash. It did the trick. 

Everyone rushed the table she was sitting at, asking questions all at the same time. "Well if you'll all be quiet, I'll read it to you." She opened the newspaper again to the correct page and began reading. 

+++++ _"Psychiatrists come across all sorts of disturbed people during a normal working day, but psychiatrists at the Stigwood Insane Asylum have recently been dealing with a case perhaps a little more interesting than the usual. An unknown man - named John Doe by the psychiatrists and appearing to be in his late twenties or early thirties - has been claiming to be a vampire. Not an unusual claim in itself, as it turns out, but his insistence on being a vampire with a soul has got their attention. _

"'John Doe' was found a week ago by police wandering around a park in a dishevelled state. His 'warnings' to the police to stay away from him, because he was a vampire, prompted them to take him into custody and deliver him to the Stigwood Insane Asylum for analysis on his mental state. He soon announced to the attending psychiatrist that he was not only a vampire, but a vampire with a soul. His story since has never wavered." +++++ 

"Well that's not something you read about every day," said Cordelia as she sat up after being hunched over the newspaper. 

"Obviously he's just a nutcase," said Charles Gunn. "I mean, there's nothing in the prophecies about there being a second vamp with a soul, is there?" He addressed the questioned to Wesley. 

"No, not from everything I've read," Wesley replied. "But prophecies are notoriously difficult to decipher correctly - a single word could be interpreted a dozen different ways. But if we've read article, this then others will certainly read it, including people - or demons - that would happily kill him, just in case. So while ever he's in there, he's in danger." 

"So you're suggesting we break out a possibly dangerously insane man from an insane asylum?" said Gunn, a little incredulously. 

"We don't know that he is dangerously insane," he replied. 

"But if he is a vampire, why wouldn't he simply break out?" asked Fred. 

"I don't know," replied Wesley. "Something could have happened to him to cause him to become confused. He could be under a spell. There could be any number of explanations, including simply being an insane man. But if that turns out to be the case then we can find another asylum that will take him, and try and ensure they keep quiet about it this time." 

Throughout all this, Angel had kept quiet and watched the conversation to-and-fro. Then finally he spoke. "I'll go tonight," he said before turning away. Wesley opened his mouth to argue, but closed it with a sigh. They all knew it was quite pointless to argue with him in these situations; when he made up his mind about something, it stayed made up. 

"Well, that's the end of that discussion," Wesley said quietly. "Would you like any help at all?" He called in Angel's direction. "Perhaps you'd like us to pick out your clothes for you. That shouldn't take long." He was being sarcastic, but it was times like this that made it hard to like Angel. 

Angel stopped and turned towards them, only now starting to break away from their huddle. "You can try and find a way to get me inside, and to get access to him," he said before continuing on his way. Angel often had to fight the impulse to just go off on his own and charge headlong into the bad guys. He knew much of that was his darker side coming out, so he did his best to control it. But it was difficult. God knows, it was difficult. Being a team player wasn't something that came natural to him, so every day was a struggle for him to play that game. 

"Right, you heard him," said Wesley once Angel had left, "let's get to work. Cordy and Fred, you see what you can find on the 'net. If we can hack into the asylum's system, perhaps we can arrange for a transfer of the patient, and have Doctor Angel pick him up. His credentials don't need to be rock solid, just solid enough to give him time to get him in and out with the patient." 

"I know someone who could make up a fake ID," said Gunn. 

"Excellent," said Wesley. "First priority, Cordy, Fred, is to create a fake psychiatric doctor in the system. As soon as you do that, give the details to Gunn so he can get the ID made." 

There wasn't really much else Wesley could do at the moment, so he just kept an eye on proceedings. Several hours later, with the sun set an hour earlier, everything had been done. A psychiatric doctor named Doctor Edward Lynham was due to pick up the John Doe patient and transfer him to another facility tonight. The other asylum's systems had also been hacked into with information containing his transfer there set in place, so if their asylum checked with them, it would be confirmed. And Gunn's ID was perfect. 

"Tell him he did an excellent job," said Wesley, admiring the handiwork. 

"Her," Gunn corrected. "And we now owe her a favour." 

"Great," said Wesley gloomily. "Yet another person we owe a favour to. I remember the good old days when we used to be able to draw on favours." 

With everything set, they called down Angel and gave him the good news. Doctor Lynham was due to pick up John Doe for transfer in two hours time. 


	2. Asylum

Chapter 2 

Two hours later, Wesley, Fred, Cordelia and Gunn were sitting in the car, waiting for Angel to return. The asylum was situated in a walled parkland area, with the occasional tree in the grounds. The car was parked to one side of the tree-lined entrance road, just inside the gate. The Gothic architecture of the asylum made it look like an old nineteenth century English madhouse, with red brick walls, buttresses and lancet arches, turrets and tiny windows. There were only a few floodlights to light up the grubby-looking exterior, and they only helped to give it a very gloomy, depressing air rather than brighten the place up. Cordelia expected to hear piercing screams coming from the building at any moment. Perhaps even creepy organ music. 

Angel had made his way to the asylum and stepped inside the small wooden front doors. The high ceiling of the lobby contained a pair of enormous chandeliers, casting soft light over the fairly sparse furniture of reception desk, a couple of small tables and hard wooden chairs in the waiting area. A small flower stall/gift shop had been built inside the lobby up against one wall. It was currently closed. 

Angel walked up to the reception desk, which had a plump woman in her fifties slumped back in her chair, reading a magazine. 

"I'm Doctor Edward Lynham, here to pick up your John Doe patient," he said in an easy but confident matter. He slid a folded sheet of paper over the counter towards her, including his ID card. She didn't take long to confirm the details, because it was all there on the computer. The fact that she knew nothing about it didn't faze her at all; she was rarely told about these things. They much preferred to tell her via the computer. Which suited her, because if she followed exactly what the computer said, and it turned out to be a mistake, then it wasn't her mistake, it was the mistake of whomever input the information into the system in the first place. 

She gave him directions to the wing John Doe was currently in - west wing, ward B - and rang the nurse on duty there to notify them of his arrival and to get the patient ready. Angel watched all this very carefully, while simultaneously giving an air of disinterest. When the nurse hung up and smiled at him, he returned the smile, thanked her, and walked off in the direction of the elevators. 

The elevator was the of old style; folding metal cage door with solid metal door behind it. He pressed the button, which immediately made a sorry sounding 'ping' noise, telling him the elevator was already there. He slid the outer cage door aside, which squealed in protest as he did so. Once the solid metal door was open, he stepped inside, closed them both and pressed the button for the third floor. The rickety and noisy elevator chugged into life and slowly dragged its way lazily upwards. The elevator eventually shuddered to a halt, with the doors rattling open. He hurriedly dragged open the doors and stepped out. 

Angel turned left, per instructions, and started walking. The corridors were long and only sparsely lit, with occasional tiny windows set high in the walls showing glimpses of starry sky. Mostly quiet and emptiness greeted him, but sounds from some doors and corridors he passed reminded him that he really wasn't alone. A loud, drawn out scream from behind one door made him jump. 

Finally, after passing through a number of large double doors, he arrived at large double metal doors with reinforced glass windows. A 'Ward B' sign hung above the doors. A button and speaker was set in the wall to one side of the doors. He pressed the button and heard a faint buzzing sound from behind the doors. He spoke into the speaker. "Doctor Edward Lyneham to collect patient John Doe." 

The doors clicked unlocked after a few seconds, and Angel pushed them open and stepped in. A skinny man in his thirties, sitting behind a polished desk, looked at him disinterestedly. The large, bushy beard on the skinny man made his head look out of proportion to the rest of his body. Angel showed him his ID card, which he little more than glanced at. Bobby (as far as his name tag was concerned) fished in a draw and dragged out a form and a pen, which he slid across the desk towards Angel. He quickly filled it out, relieved there was nothing in the form that stumped him. The team had done well with their information. 

Bobby didn't even look at the form, which he shoved in a pigeonhole in the wall behind him. Pushing reluctantly away from the newspaper spread out on the desk, he grabbed a key from a cabinet and shuffled his way towards the locked doors. Angel followed. 

Glancing once through the slot in the door, he unlocked it and swung it open. Angel stepped inside and looked around. It was little more than a prison cell, with a simple bed, open toilet, desk and chair furnishing the room. A small, barred window sat high in one wall, which was currently letting in only small amounts of moonlight. A single dirty light bulb shone dully from the ceiling, casting 'John', who was lying on his back on the bed, in an almost eerie light. 

"Come on, John, time for you to take a trip with Doctor Lynham," said Bobby. 

"Where to?" he asked, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side. 

"To another facility," he replied, not totally sure himself, nor really caring. 

John, though, looked relieved to be leaving, and Angel couldn't say he blamed him. He was used to skulking around unpleasant places, but this place... it fairly reeked of madness, anger, frustration and depression. He had no idea how anyone could possibly get better being locked behind these awful walls. 

Angel smiled at John and placed an arm gently under an elbow; John allowed himself to be lead from the room. Once Angel quickly pencilled in the time and fake signature on a form, then turned to leave. 

"Hey, wait a minute," said Bobby from behind. Angel stopped dead in his tracks and held his breath, stealing himself for a fight and a hasty exit. He turned around to look at Bobby. 

"Yes?" 

"Do you need any help with the patient? An escort or restraints or something?" He'd made his way back around behind the desk and placed his hand on the phone, ready to call for help if the 'doctor' said the word. 

"Er... no. No, thanks, I think we'll be fine, won't we John?" he said, smiling at John standing quietly beside him. 

"Sure," he replied morosely. Angel doubted very much if he'd have any trouble from him. 

"Alright, no problems then," said Bobby. "Good luck, doctor." 

And with that, Angel turned again to leave, this time leaving the ward without any more interruptions. He walked John quickly through the corridors, wanting to be out of that place as soon as possible. John kept up the pace easily, probably equally eager to leave. 

They soon made their way to the lobby, and Angel glanced to the receptionist, smiling when she looked up at him. If anything had gone wrong this soon, she would undoubtedly know by now. But she simply returned a weak smile and returned to her magazine. Angel walked to the door, opened it, and stepped out into the night air. He only then allowed himself to breath a sigh of relief. But he suspected it would be some hours before he could get the smell of that asylum out of his head. 

During all that time, John hadn't said a word or struggled in any way, which relieved Angel. It was only when they finally reached the car that he began to pull at the light grip on his arm. "What's this?" he asked suspiciously, looking at the car full of people smiling at him. 

"It's okay," spoke up Cordelia. "We're not going to hurt you. We're going to do our best to help you and we didn't think you'd be able to get much help in there," she said, waving a hand in the direction of the asylum. 

"Are you really a doctor?" he asked, turning to Angel while reluctantly allowing himself to be escorted into the backseat of the car. 

"Um... not exactly," he replied. 

With Fred and Wesley on one side of him and Gunn on the other, he sat quietly during the drive back to the Hyperion hotel, asking no more questions. But the unsure, slightly nervous look never left his face. 

***** 

They drove straight to Caritas, the karaoke bar with a difference. Lorne, the green-skinned proprietor of said bar, was standing at the back of the bar, listening to some hideous looking demon singing on stage. But despite the grotesque appearance of the demon, he - or possibly she, or maybe even it - had a truly beautiful, almost enchanting voice. The song was unknown to Angel or any of the gang, and neither was the language 'it' was singing in. But it mattered not at all, as even Angel became mesmerised by the voice. 

After several more minutes, the song ended and the demon bowed. There was silence at first, until Lorne started clapping loudly. Then everyone else joined in enthusiastically. After the demon had left the stage and the hubbub had died down, Lorne turned to Angel and his gang. He immediately noticed their new companion. 

"Got a new friend, I see," said Lorne. "Are you going to introduce me?" 

Angel opened his mouth to do just that, before he realised that he didn't actually know his name. 

"Well, actually..." he began. 

"Jude," replied their new friend in a quiet voice. 

"Hey Jude, don't make it bad!" sang Gunn, smiling at his own witty reference to the Beatles song. 

Jude turned to look at Gunn. "Don't make what bad?" he said, looking puzzled. 

"Not much of a Beatles fan, I guess," Gunn whispered, feeling a little silly. 

"Er... yes... welcome, Jude," said Lorne, shaking his hand. "I hope you enjoy it here. Any friend of Angel's is a friend of mine. Except for the ones I don't like, obviously. But I can tell I'm going to like you." 

Angel soon pulled Lorne aside, away from Jude and anyone else in the bar. 

"Lorne, I need you to do your stuff with Jude. He claims to be a vampire with a soul and I need to find out whether he belongs back in the insane asylum, or..." He didn't know how to finish it, because he didn't know what to do with him if he really did turn out to be a vampire with a soul. 

"Surely you can tell if he's a vampire, at least," said Lorne, looking a little surprised. 

"That's the thing, I'm not sure. If he was a normal vampire then absolutely. But... I can't quite tell with him. I feel something, but I can't be sure exactly what it is." 

"Well then, I'll see what I can do," said Lorne, looking over Angel's shoulder to see Jude just standing there, seemingly a bit dazed. He approached him and gave him the big, friendly smile he gives to all of his patrons. 

"Why don't you get up there and show us what your tonsils are made of?" he said, slapping him on the back in a friendly fashion. 

"Me? Oh, I... I don't know if I can sing very well. I mean..." 

"Oh come on, Jude," said Cordelia, sidling up beside him and putting an arm around his shoulder. She felt she could talk most men into just about anything, if she tried hard enough. And she was probably right. "I'm sure you've got a great voice. And we'd all love to hear it, wouldn't we?" she said, throwing a glance at the others while pressing the length of her body gently up against him. 

"Oh yeah, absolutely," said Gunn. 

"Definitely," agreed Wesley. 

"Sure thing," said Angel, smiling. He hated smiling, because it always felt so artificial, and he suspected it just made him look creepy rather than happy. 

"Well... okay, then," said Jude somewhat reluctantly as he made his way gingerly to the stage. The song he chose was "Stuck in the middle with you" by Steelers Wheels. 

_'He knows Steelers Wheels but he doesn't know The Beatles? What a strange person,'_ thought Gunn. 

His voice was a bit rusty to start with, but actually wasn't half bad by the end of the song. God knows, he'd heard a hell of a lot worse! When he'd finished, Lorne clapped encouragingly, like he did with all the patrons brave enough to sing. 

"That was very good, Jude," said Lorne as Jude returned to the group. "You should work on that, you'd be great." He usually told most of them that they were good, even the ones that literally made the patrons' ears bleed or even drop dead on the floor. But with Jude, he meant it. He was pretty good, considering the usually quality he gets. 

Jude conveniently chose that moment to go to the bathroom, so Lorne turned to Angel and the gang, pulling them to the back of the bar. 

"He's a puzzling one, is Jude," said Lorne. "I'm not surprised your sensors were a bit confused, Angel." 

"Yeah, and?" said Angel impatiently. 

"Well... from what I can tell," continued Lorne, "he is a vampire. And I think he might indeed have a soul." 

"Impossible," said Wesley. "Are you 100% sure?" 

"No, I'm not 100% sure. But it's the best I can do," said Lorne defensively. "If you want my opinion, I think he is indeed a vampire with a soul, but he's also had a very hard time dealing with things... reality, for example. If you get my drift." 

"So, would a vampire with a soul," mused Wesley, "combined with a bit of insanity, explain why it's so difficult to... get an accurate reading?" 

"Sure. I read people's aura, not their mind, and if their grip on reality is a bit tenuous, then that affects their aura. Anyway, even if I could read his mind, I doubt it would be much clearer." 

Just then, Jude came back from the bathroom. He saw them all huddled together, obviously deep in conversation, and paused. But Cordelia saw him and gave him her big, warm smile and waved him over. He hesitated a moment longer before joining them. 

Jude walked straight up to Angel and pulled him aside. 

"I need blood. Badly. It's been too long since my last feed. I know you're just like me so I know you understand that if I can't get access to blood soon, I'll need to find my own. And I don't really want to do that." 

Angel did indeed understand. He knew what it was like to be so desperate for a feed that you began to watch innocent people hungrily and trying to resist the enormous temptation the walking blood banks provided. 

"Okay, we need to get you back to the hotel." With that, Angel got the attention of the others and notified them that they needed to get back home, quickly. They followed them out the door, tight on their heels. 


	3. Impostor

Chapter 3 

It wasn't long before they arrived back at the Hyperion Hotel. Angel led Jude to his own stash of blood in the fridge. He took out a beaker filled with blood and handed it to Jude. He quickly downed it in one go, grimacing and wiping his mouth when he'd drained it. 

"Pig's blood," he said without much pleasure. 

"Yes. It's the best I can do without resorting to..." 

"Yeah, I understand. Thanks, I needed that." 

"Now, we need to talk about a few things," said Angel, guiding him back into the old lobby of the hotel. 

Cordelia, Fred, Gunn and Wesley were sitting around, waiting for them to return. When Angel and Jude joined them, they all sat or stood in a rough circle and said nothing for a moment. 

"So, Jude," said Wesley, taking command of things, which he did more and more these days. "I hear you're a vampire with a soul." 

"That's correct. I was sired in 1542 in France. In England, 1683, I was taken by some demons and used in a ritual. The end result was that I found they had returned my soul to me. They continued to use me for their own needs for the next hundred years. I was finally able to escape, but I never discovered who they were or what their purpose was. Ever since then I've been wandering around the world, looking for them, while trying to cope with having a soul, and the conscience that came with it." 

They were all silent a moment, taking in his extraordinary tale. 

"I've heard of prophecies of a vampire with a soul," he continued, "but I haven't paid much attention to them. I've been... preoccupied." 

The gang looked at each other before Wesley tilted his head to one side, indicating a desire for them to have a chat amongst themselves, without Jude. 

"Um... Jude," said Angel, "you must be feeling a bit weak after... everything, how about having a rest for a while? You're safe here." 

Jude thought about it a moment before nodding his head in agreement. He still felt weak from the lack of blood. Fred led him upstairs to a vacant room and closed the door behind him. Once she had rejoined them, they huddled together for a discussion. They talked quietly, knowing how supremely good the hearing of a vampire is and not wanting him to accidentally overhear them. Angel spoke first. 

"Wesley, have you came across anything in the prophecies that has ever suggested two vampires with souls?" 

"No, I can't say that I have, but like I said before, you know the prophecies... But one vampire with a soul is significant enough, so you would have expected the prophecies to be clear about a second one, if there was one." 

"But there's nothing to specifically say that there _isn't_ supposed to be a second vampire with a soul, though," said Fred. 

"No, that is true," agreed Wesley. 

"So what do we do?" asked Gunn. "Let's just assume a moment that he really is another vamp with a soul... what do we do about it?" 

"Good question," said Cordelia. 

"Well if what he says is true," spoke up Wesley, "then that would probably explain his... mental problems. Who knows what those demons did to him for a hundred years. And then hundreds of subsequent years wandering around with feelings of vengeance coursing through his veins. That would be enough to unhinge anyone." 

They all looked at Angel, waiting for him to say something. But he was silent, thinking about if that had have happened to him. Would he have gone mad, just like Jude apparently is? He suspected probably yes. 

"If he was a simple vampire then we could just stake him," said Angel finally. "If he's a vampire with a soul, and crazy, then that makes him a danger to himself and others. But I don't think that automatically means we should stake him, just in case." 

"No, I agree," said Wesley. "But I do think we should keep a close eye on him and try and find out what his plans are. But," he continued, whispering, "if he does prove to be dangerous, then I think we'll have no choice but to consider the serious possibility of... stopping him. Agreed?" 

He looked around at the others, and they all either said yes or simply nodded their heads. Except for Angel. He said nothing and didn't move. 

"Angel?" said Wesley, looking firmly at him. 

For Angel, it was almost like finding a long-lost brother. He already felt a kinship with him, because he knew that Jude would understand the torment that being a vampire with a soul was. But if he really was dangerous... 

Angel finally nodded his head in agreement. Wesley kept his attention on him a moment longer, as if trying to read his thoughts. 

"That's only a last resort, though," he said, still looking at Angel, who was looking at the floor, before turning his gaze on the others. "In the mean time, though, I think we should go over the prophecies again and any other information we can find, just to see if we've missed anything." 

Over the next week, they poured over every bit of information they could lay their hands on, but nowhere could they find evidence that there was supposed to be a second vampire with a soul. The nearest they could find was a possible interpretation buried deep in the prophecies. If you used your imagination then it could perhaps suggest a battle between Angel and another like him. But it didn't suggest who might win, or anything else. 

During this time, Jude wasn't completely inactive, either. Apart from trading stories - mostly with Angel - he also studied the prophecies. And the more he read them, the more he became convinced that the prophecies were all about him, and not Angel. Although he kept those thoughts to himself. 

***** 

While the gang got no closer to finding anything concrete about whether a second vampire with a soul was supposed to exist, they couldn't help but notice how relaxed Jude became. He now pretty much appeared as sane as the rest of them. Which, admittedly, wasn't perhaps saying a lot, but at least he no longer came across as being nutty as a fruitcake. Angel was more pleased than anybody that Jude apparently wasn't truly insane. They eventually decided to have a meeting to decide, once and for all, what they should do about Jude. 

"I've seen no evidence to suggest insanity in Jude," began Wesley. The others agreed with him. "In fact, he seems quite calm and relaxed. More than that, he's been showing an active interest in the prophecies and with what we've been doing." 

"He's been suggesting to me that he'd like to help," said Cordelia. 

"And he's been training with me," said Angel. "He's strong, shows real talent, and could be even better in time. I think he'd be a big help to us." 

"With two Angel's, so to speak, we could probably help twice as many people," said Fred. Everybody turned to Gunn to hear his opinion. It was several seconds before he spoke. 

"Everyone seems to agree with Jude joining us, and I don't have a problem with that. But I think we need to still be a little careful for a while. I think he should always be accompanied by someone else, at least for a while." 

"I agree," said Wesley. "While he appears quite sane, I think he should be paired up with Angel for a while. Angel, would you have a problem with that?" 

"No," he said, shaking his head. In fact, he liked the idea a lot. 

"Right, then, that's settled. We should invite Jude to stay with us if he wants to. If he doesn't wish to, though, then I have no problem with allowing him to go his own way." He looked around at the others to see them all nodding in agreement. 

But when they made the offer to him, he was only too happy to join them. 

So for the next few weeks, Angel and Jude almost always went on missions together, fighting side by side. They proved to be a formidable team, with Jude's fighting skills improving by the day. But while everyone quickly accepted him as a part of the team - and he outwardly appeared quite normal - he had become convinced that there should only be one vampire with a soul, and that was him. 

He spent hours a day, going through various ideas in his mind as to the best way to settle the... problem. Finally, the idea came to him: battle Angel, in front of all his friends, and when he - Jude - defeats him, they will all see that Jude was meant to be the one true vampire with a soul! It seemed the perfect idea, and he couldn't see any way it would fail. After all, he had no doubt at all that he would defeat Angel, and then his 'friends' couldn't help but agree with him that he was the True One and that Angel was the impostor. But just to be sure, he decided to disable them, just in case they were a little slow to accept Jude as the True One. 

***** 

Everyone noticed a change in Jude, but nobody was suspicious, least of all Angel. Jude was the happiest and most relaxed that he'd been since he'd joined them. Any lingering doubts as to his sanity quickly evaporated, even with Gunn. But that complacency was soon to be shattered. 

The sun had recently set one day and Angel had just left for a simple reconnaissance mission on a suspected vampire nest. Since it was just a reconnaissance mission, there was no need for the others to accompany him. And since there was nothing else going on that night, everybody stayed back at the hotel. Jude volunteered to go and get pizza for everyone, and it wasn't long before he arrived back. Everybody shared their pizza, except for Jude, who had his own pizza. But since it had pineapple on it, nobody wanted it, anyway. He refused all offers to have a slice of their pizza, saying he was quite happy with his own. 

Soon, all the pizza boxes were lying empty, except for Jude's, which only had two slices gone. 

"Not hungry, Jude?" asked Gunn, leaning back and patting his stomach contentedly. 

"No, I guess pineapple on pizza doesn't agree with me," he said, giving him a grim smile and carefully patting his own stomach. They laughed in response. 

"That's what you get for putting weird stuff on your pizza," said Cordelia, smiling. Jude said nothing, but grinned back at her. 

But their groans of satisfaction were quickly replaced by groans of pain, as they all doubled over, clutching at their stomachs. Jude sat there quietly, watching them impassively. Their groans soon ended, as they collapsed unconscious. Jude quickly went to work, tying them all up, chuckling to himself at how painfully simple it was to drug these poor fools. 

When Angel returned, it was to the site of his friends sitting around completely tied up and gagged. It was then that he saw Jude sitting nearby, smiling to himself. At first, Angel assumed they'd been attacked and perhaps Jude had stepped out and interrupted them when he came back - he noticed the pizza boxes - which would explain why he was the only one not tied up. He ran over to them but stopped when he got a good look at Jude. Not only was there no sign of a fight, but the maniacal grin on Jude's face told a different story. 

"Welcome back, Angel," said Jude quietly. "How was the mission? No trouble, I trust." 

"What's going on?" Angel asked, mentally preparing himself for a fight but hoping that he wouldn't have to. 

"Oh nothing much. I was just waiting for you to arrive back so I could prove to our fine young friends here that you're an impostor and that I'm the one true vampire with a soul." He slowly stood up and stretched as he spoke. Angel backed away to stand in the middle of the lobby. 

"Jude, there's no impostor here." 

"Wrong!" he roared, approaching Angel. "You're the impostor! The prophecies are all about me, not you! And when I defeat you, they," he waved a hand at the tied-up gang, "will see that I'm right!" With no more said, he rushed at Angel and the fighting began. 

Wesley watched helplessly as they fought. It was savage and, unfortunately, a worryingly even contest. First Angel would be thrown violently against the wall - or through the wall - and then Jude would have the same treatment. Punches and kicks were traded, each one violent enough to kill a mortal human. During the fight, the weapons cabinet was smashed and weapons of all kinds spilled out onto the floor. They were quickly incorporated into the fighting. 

But when Angel took a blow to the chest and went crashing into Wesley, they both went flying backwards onto the floor. Angel stood up, but not before 'accidentally' leaving the sword with Wesley. Angel carried on with the fighting, but Wesley quickly cut the ropes and freed himself, while Jude's attention was otherwise engaged. He did the same to the others, and they were all soon reaching for their own weapons. And not a moment too soon, as Wesley saw Jude standing over a badly hurt Angel lying on the floor. Jude held a long metal bar in his hands, poised over his head. 

Gunn raised his modified crossbow, aimed it at Jude's back, and fired, just as he plunged the bar down. The bar froze inches from Angel's chest as Jude let out a cry of anguish and exploded into a puff of dust. The bar bounced harmlessly off Angel's chest and clattered onto the floor. 

***** 

"Okay, that's the last time I trust a vampire with a soul!" said Gunn, standing next to Angel lying on the bed in his room. The others, also standing around his bed, looked at Gunn. "Well... I mean another vampire with a soul." 

The good thing about vampires is that they healed extremely quickly, but that didn't take away the terrible pain Angel would be in until the wounds did heal. 

But heal he did, and with no obvious indications as to his close brush with death. Well, his second death, anyway. But the gang would never again so easily accept a stranger into their fold. 

The End. 


End file.
